New psychoactive substances (NPS) have been emerging onto the recreational drug scene at an unprecedented rate. In parallel the number of substances notified to the EU Early Warning System (EWS) each year is increasing, and shows no signs of abating. In 2015, 98 new compounds were reported for the first time, bringing the total number of substances monitored to more than 560 since 2008.Chiron strive to meet customer demand for NPS reference materials, and work closely with clinical and forensic institutions to this effect. Since our last edition we have added more than 250 new product lines. This catalogue lists the wide range of available standards for NPS and associated substances offered by Chiron.

Flame Retardants Edition 2Flame retardants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are abundant in modern society- from clothing and carpets to couches and computers - they are added to a wide range of every day products in an attempt to reduce flammability or delay combustion. The name implies that they convey safety, but to the contrary they have been associated with numerous adverse and bio-accumulative health effects, including endocrine disruption, infertility, birth defects, lowered IQs, behavioral problems, and cancers. Ironically, when alight the toxic soup of burning chemicals and byproducts released, such as dioxins, furans and formaldehyde, can be more hazardous than the fire itself.Additionally, flame retardants persist in the environment – in water and soil – build up in wildlife, enter the food chain and are now global persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of concern. Despite of the environmental and toxicological concerns, they are, and will for some time remain abundant in many consumer goods. Since disclosure of their use is unregulated many consumers remain unaware of their existence or the hazards they pose.Halogenated flame retardants, and particularly the brominated ones, have been used for decades, but concerns about their health risk have only been raised since the 2000’s. The number of commercial flame retardants has been rather limited, less than 100 in total. New flame retardants containing various phosphor-containing compounds have been introduced after the concerns arose around the halogenated forms. Also, flame retardants bonded to various inorganic, insoluble or polymeric organic entities have entered market during the past years.

Toxicology Reference MaterialToxicology covers a wide range of disciplines, including therapeutic drug monitoring, clinical toxicology, forensic toxicology (drug driving, criminal and coroners), drugs in sport and work place drug testing, as well as academia and research. Those working in the field have a professionalinterest in the detection and measurement of alcohol, drugs, poisons and their breakdown products in biological samples, together with the interpretation of these measurements.Abuse and misuse of drugs is one of the biggest problems facing our society today. Acute poisoning remains one of the commonest medical emergencies, accounting for 10-20% of hospital admissions for general medicine [Dargan & Jones, 2001]. Many offenders charged with violent crimes, or victims of violent crime may have been under the influence of drugs at the time the act was committed. The use of mind-altering drugs in the work place, or whilst in control of a motor vehicle places others in danger [Drummer, 2001]. Performance enhancing drugs in sport make for an uneven playing field and distract from the core ethic of sportsmanship.Patterns of drug abuse around the world are constantly evolving. They vary between geographies; from one country to another and even from region to region or population to population within countries. With a European presence, a wide reaching network of global customers anddistributors, and activate participation in relevant professional societies, Chiron is well positioned to develop and deliver relevant, and current standards to meet customer demand in this challenging field.

Reference Materials for Water AnalysisAccess to clean and safe water is essential for our global community. Less than 1% of the planet’s water is usable as drinking water, yet there is increasing demand due to population growth. Sources for fresh water are ground and surface waters.Our drinking water needs to be free from harmful pollutants to ensure public health. Therefore, it ishighly regulated in the industrialised world. Public water suppliers must regularly demonstrate that their water meets certain standards to ensure public trust. Drinking water is usually analysed for primary (e.g. toxic substances from various sources) and secondary contaminants (e.g. taste, smell).Not only drinking water needs to be monitored. Controlling municipal wastewater treatment plants as well as industrial wastewater ensures quality and sustainability of our ground water. This industry, as well as agricultural industry all over the world is dependent on reliable water supply.Chiron offers a large variety of organic reference materials for water analysis, including pharmaceuticals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Pesticide Reference Material #2Pesticides are chemical agents used for controlling pests such as insects, diseases or weeds. They are often classified according to their target, and terms such as herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are used synonymously with pesticide. Pesticides are also classified according to chemical class such as organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbonates. The most common application of these chemicals is for crop protection. Despite their protective attributes, pesticides are potentiallytoxic to humans and to other exposed creatures.

New Psychoactive Substances(NPS) Edition 3_2015New psychoactive substances (NPS) (designer drugs, research chemicals, “legal highs”) have been emerging onto the recreational drug scene at an unprecedented rate. In parallel the number of substances notified to the EU Early Warning System (EWS) for the first time is increasing year on year, and shows no signs of abating. In 2014, 101 new compounds were reported. This represented an increase of 25 % compared with 2013. The EU Early Warning System is currently monitoring more than 450 substances.NPS have emerged from a number of different chemical classes (Piperazines, cathinones, phenethylamines, aminoindanes, piperidines and pyrrolidines, benzofurans, arylcyclohexylamines, tryptamines, synthetic cannabinoids…), most of which fall broadly into three categories: stimulants, hallucinogens or synthetic cannabinoids. Outwith these have been a handful of synthetic opioids, including AH-7921 and MT-45 and an increasing number of uncontrolled benzodiazepines. Synthetic cathinones, were the largest category of new drugs identified in Europe in 2014, followed by synthetic cannabinoids. Thirteen compounds detected did not fit easily into any of the substance groups monitored.Chiron strive to meet customer demand for NPS reference materials, and work closely with clinical and forensic institutions to this effect. This mini-catalogue lists a wide range of standards for NPS and associated substances.

Petroleum Reference StandardsChiron was established in 1983 by Dr. Jon Eigill Johansen in Trondheim, Norway and started with the development and production of biomarkers for use in the search for oil in the North Sea. Chiron has therefore been involved in the preparation of steroid and triterpanoid (hopane) reference materials used in the petroleum industry for over 30 years, and possess a unique experience in this field. These compounds are found in petroleum and sediments. Hopanes are in fact the second largest group of natural products on earth, surpassed only by cellulose. This type of compound changes its chemical structure over time and maturation. They have traditionally been used in petroleum exploration, but in recent years have been increasingly used for forensic analysis, for example in the investigation of oil spills. Chiron works with major oil companies, institutions, private laboratories, universities and hospitals in this area, and is currently the only producer of a large range of oil exploration reference materials.

CHIRON 13C product flyer13C Labelled internal standards(IS) are superior to DEUTERATED standards in UPLC-MS/MS analysis of drugs.The same RETENTION TIMES and RESPONSE FACTORSas the natives lead to NO BIAS WITH ION SUPPRESSION.

High quality Standards for Food SafetyIn recent years, there has been increasing interest in 3-MCPD fatty acid esters in food analysis. These esters are formed during the production and heating of oils and fats. They are considered harmful at high levels of consumption.3-MCPD is a known carcinogen found as a heat-induced contaminant in many different types of fat-containingfoodstuffs. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has defined a limit of 2μg/kg body weight as a tolerable dailyintake (TDI).

The collection of reference materials - 2008For more than 25 years Chiron has supplied oil and gas companies and analytical laboratories throughout the world with reference substances of high purity for geochemical and environmental analysis. Profile companies and institutions throughout the world have benefited from our supply of unique reference standards. High focus on basic research applied to environmental and petroleum problems has brought Chiron to the forefront of analytical chemistry. This is a result of many years of investments, the enthusiasm and frontier spirit of our team, and a close cooperation with academic institutions and customers worldwide.